Louisville 71, SMU 63

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Guard Luke Hancock scored 19 of his 23 points in the second half as No. 12 Louisville held off Southern Methodist University 71-63 Sunday at the KFC Yum! Center.

Louisville (14-3, 3-1 American Athletic Conference) led by 17 points at 37-20 in the first half, but SMU (11-4, 1-2) closed within 42-40 after closing the first half with a 5-0 run. SMU then opened the second half with a 15-5 run before Louisville went on an 8-2 spurt to open some breathing space. SMU got no closer than four points thereafter.

Guard Russ Smith also had 23 points for Louisville, and forward Montrezl Harrell had 12 points and 13 rebounds. Smith also had seven assists and four steals.

Forward Markus Kennedy led SMU with 12 points and eight rebounds, and forward Shawn Williams had 10 points. Forward Nic Moore, SMU's leading scorer, was held to five points on 2-of-8 shooting.

After a slow start, Louisville sprinted to a 37-25 halftime lead behind 15 points and three assists by Smith and seven points and six rebounds by Harrell. The score was tied 10-10 when the Cards went on a 20-5 run. Freshman reserve guard Terry Rozier had two 3-pointers during the run, and Smith had five points.

With Pitino stressing defense after Thursday's loss to Memphis, which shot 51 percent, the Cards harassed the Mustangs into 32 percent shooting (8 of 25) and forced 10 turnovers. Utilizing a three-guard lineup for much of the half, Louisville frequently trapped the ball handler. Smith had three steals.

SMU did close the half with a 5-0 run. SMU's leading scorers were Russell and Manuel with six points apiece, although Manuel hit just 2 of 7 shots. Moore, the Mustangs' leading scorer, was blanked on 0-for-2 shooting.

Notes: Yanick Moreira, SMU's starting center, is out with a sprained knee suffered last week in practice. The extent of the injury has not been determined. The 6-foot-11 Moreira, a junior college transfer in his first season at SMU, was averaging 9.1 points and 5.6 rebounds a game. He was second on the team with 11 blocks. ... The game featured a matchup between Hall of Fame coaches Rick Pitino of Louisville and SMU's Larry Brown. They met 17 times in the NBA, with Brown having an 11-6 edge, but this is their first meeting at the collegiate level. ... Louisville's next game is at home against Houston Thursday. ... SMU hosts South Florida on Wednesday.